Kotak buys a piece of Home Solutions

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s India Growth Fund has picked up equity worth $12 million in Kishore Biyani’s Home Solutions Retail India Ltd, which is set to roll out Home Town, its new format modelled on Home Depot.

The $160 million India Growth Fund has made nine investments and is about 55% invested as of date.

The first Home Town is slated to roll out on March 31 from Noida and thereafter in six other cities within six to nine months in cities, including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Thane, Surat and Ahmedabad at an investment of Rs 150-175 crore.

Each of the Home Town formats, which will be spread over at least 1.25 lakh sq ft, will also incorporate e-Zone, the electronics lifestyle format and the Collection-i, Pantaloon’s furniture and home accessories formats.

Properties have already been signed up and construction work at most of these locations is already on so that some of them could be opened within a month or two.

Home Town will offer everything a customer would need to build, furnish and decorate a home including building material, paints, tiles, electrical and plumbing products and services, furnishings, furniture and consumer durables.

According to estimates, the current home market in the country is estimated at between Rs 75,000 crore and Rs 100,000 crore which is largely serviced by the unorganised market.